Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Food to the Rescue

In general, I think about food a lot. From what complicated recipe do I want to try this weekend, to what food and health trends would make good topics for a magazine article. All this thinking about food, and of course cooking it, tends to provide plenty of material for this blog.

In the past, I've had backlogs of recipes to post, but not now. Some reasons for that are summer travel and recipe development work for magazines that can't yet be shared with the world. But, one of the biggest reasons for the lack of blog material is that I've been really busy thinking about non-food related things lately. With presidential campaign mania and Wall Street insanity, how could I not be fretting about other things?

I've taken to spending my web-surfing time reading the New York Times - but the Politics and Opinion sections, rather than Dining & Wine. What the heck?! I've even been spending less times reading food blogs, and seeing all the numbers of unread posts on my feed reader going up each day makes me feel like I'll never catch up.

So, today I thought of a small, but possibly useful exercise to get food back on the brain. Here are the main things that have been consuming me lately and a corresponding food-related solution:

2) Splenda might be the antichrist (if a Sugar Association-funded study is to be believed) - Seriously, although actually food-related, this is not what I needed to see in the Times today. I love Splenda. Luuuuve it. It's not so hot for baking, but I've been dumping it in coffee, tea and oatmeal for years now. It can't be evil. But I am slightly more motivated to check out some of those supposedly more natural sweeteners I've heard about recently, like Sweet Leaf.

4) Not doing enough blog care-taking - namely about keeping my recipe index up to date. It's so easy to do but I'm behind. You remember the recipe search feature, right? You can plug in a key work and/or search by course. Mike built it for me, and it's awesome! Solution: by the time you read this, it will be totally up to the minute!

4) And finally, The Big One - Who will win the smackdown on November 4 (you're registered, right?)? Will the next president fix health care, the economy and the housing market? Will moose replace turkey as the game meat of choice for a cherished American holiday? To remedy these fears, I won't wait till the holiday to support the Thanksgiving bird. I can make Turkey Lasagna with Eggplant and Spinach (seen above) or my Favorite Smoky Turkey Chili. And I'll be sure to enjoy them with a nice cold Sam Adams, one of favorite domestic beers, to dull my senses to the constant election media coverage.

So, are any other foodies out there finding it hard to focus lately? Has CNN replaced the food network as your must-see TV? And, like me, do you often turn to old favorites instead of trying new recipes when life gets crazy?

14 comments:

um . . . yes to everything!!! this is the longest campaign ever and i've been way too busy otherwise to cook anything substantial. thanks for the suggestions and information. i plan on mining your site more to find additional inspiration.

Clever, thoughtful, and very relatable post. I'm either in front of the set watching the market and election news or it's humming along in the background seeping into my semi-consciousness. I don't remember when I've had the food channel on lately. ...however, it doesn't keep out of the kitchen. In fact, it's the only comfort I have these days!

I cover business and financial news for a living -- in Washington. Hence, my life has been in-frickin-sane lately. But let me tell you, even now, food is a wonderful diversion to remind you of the good things in life.

For once in my life, I'm thankful that I have a partner who doesn't obsess about politics the way I do. Frankly, I've got a frickin' cookbook manuscript due--and I'm out on all the political blogs, not even the food blogs! But then I come to the table and my partner's got dinner on the ready. For once, thank goodness for someone who's a little detached from the obsessions swirling around me

One nice thing about having a blog almost solely devoted to cookies is it makes it a little easier to focus.....but I'm still having a hard time. Not sure if it's the economy, upcoming election or changing of seasons, but I feel out of sorts too.

On the other hand, I'm really enjoying Twitter. It took me a long time to sign on, but it's really helping me keep on top of issues (and recipes).

I've moved from my office to the kitchen counter so I CNN-write-blog in sync...Your last line in the post got me! Comfort, "go to" meals have been a norm lately with experiments saved for the weekend (when the news loops are running). Lovely read!

HI saw your site at food buzz.... yeah the Greek eating habits have changed a bit but still good traditional food is still being served at most homes.I was just "home" in Athens last week now back in Ft Laud....

I agree. I have been distracted and have been falling behind in reading and commenting on blogs. I've been making meals for posts but grazing out of the fridge on days I don't. I'm always watching CNN and have started forcing myself to turn it off.

Both of your turkey recipes look delicious. I made your adaptation of Deborah Madison's fideos recipe. It was wonderful!

Matt--I'm so glad you tried the fideos! That's one of my fave dishes. A totally satisfying vegetarian meal too. For anyone looking for the link, here it is: http://www.aminglingoftastes.com/2006/07/creative-vegetarian-cooking-from-meat.html

Julie O'Hara Chicago, IL

Welcome! I'm a freelance recipe developer and writer for magazines like Shape, Clean Eating and National Geographic Traveler. View my work at julieoharawriter.com. I love your emails and comments--thanks for reading!